Cooma vs Rock Flat
Cooma is the younger of the two, with a median age of 44 against 49 in Rock Flat. In both, most households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Cooma, about half of households are people living alone. On these figures, Cooma tends to suit people living alone.
Which one suits you?
There is no overall winner — the suburb that suits a family with school-age kids is routinely the wrong one for someone commuting into the city. So each of these answers its own question, against a checklist you can see, using the same figures in the tables below.
Families with school-age kids
They split
one each way, out of the 6 things we measure here
- Cooma has more parks and reserves (23 vs 1)
- Rock Flat is already more of a family suburb (72% vs 46%)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Cooma
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- leaves households under less mortgage stress (22% vs 29%)
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Rock Flat
ahead on 2 of the 2 things we measure here
- leaves renters under less rental stress (10% vs 21%)
- has cheaper rent ($250/wk vs $290/wk)
Weighs rent and rental stress.
Commuting to the city
Cooma
ahead on 3 of the 3 things we measure here
- is more walkable (28/100 vs 0/100)
- sits closer to the CBD (399 km vs 415.7 km)
- has a shorter drive in (268 min vs 274 min)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Cooma
ahead on 3 of the 4 things we measure here
- is more walkable (28/100 vs 0/100)
- has more GPs (4 vs 0)
- has more residents already 65 and over (23% vs 18%)
- But Rock Flat carries lower crime risk (46/100 vs 62/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Cooma
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (0.5% vs -5.2%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Cooma and Rock Flat drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
Bars start at zero. Scores, risks and rankings are drawn against their full 0–100 range; other rows are drawn in proportion to the larger of the two.
Side by side, out of 100
Risks are inverted — shown as safety and low exposure — so a longer bar always means better.
Demographics
Cooma has more residents (6,715 vs 73); Rock Flat has higher household incomes ($136,500 vs $71,448).
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 6,715 +99% vs other | 73 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +0.5% | -5.2% |
| Median age | 44 | 49 |
| Median household income | $71,448/yr | $136,500/yr +91% vs other |
| Median weekly rent | $290/wk +14% vs other | $250/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (23.3%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (19.2%).
Property market
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $564,000 | — |
| Median unit price | $470,000 | — |
| Median land price | $744,400 | — |
| Typical days to sell (houses) | 48 days from 95 sales | — |
Zoning mix
Rock Flat has more rural and farming land (99% vs 64%); Cooma has more land zoned for conservation (11% vs 1%).
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 64% | 99% |
| Residential | 18% | 0% |
| Environmental | 11% | 1% |
| Parks and recreation | 3% | 0% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 3% | 1% |
| Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the suburb around it. Zones as at 2026-09. | ||
Development activity
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 72 across Snowy Monaro same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +29% same for both | |
Gross rental yield
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 4.3% $545/wk on $658K | — |
| Units | — same for both | |
Ranking within NSW
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | Higher than 18% of NSW | — |
| Income | Higher than 34% of NSW | Higher than 91% of NSW |
| Schools | Higher than 51% of NSW | — |
| Walkability | Higher than 74% of NSW | Higher than 8% of NSW |
| Affordability | Higher than 80% of NSW | — |
| EV adoption | Higher than 51% of NSW same for both | |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 69% of NSW | Higher than 31% of NSW |
| Rental yield (houses) | Higher than 86% of NSW | — |
Liveability
Cooma is more walkable (28 vs 0).
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | — |
| Score | 40/100 | — |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 4/10 | very advantaged area decile 9/10 |
Risk profile
Cooma carries more bushfire risk (27 vs 12); Cooma carries more crime risk (62 vs 46).
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Low 27/100 | Low 12/100 |
| Crime | Moderate 62/100 | Moderate 46/100 |
| Flood | Not mapped no mapped data here same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 4 within 5 km | 0 within 5 km |
Schools
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 8 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 2 | 0 |
| Rated at peers | 1 | 0 |
| Rated below peers | 3 | 0 |
Schools in Cooma
- Snowy Mountains Christian School Independent · Combined above peers
- The Alpine School Independent · Primary above peers
- Monaro High School Government · Secondary at peers
- Cooma North Public School Government · Primary below peers
- Cooma Public School Government · Primary below peers
- St Patrick's Parish School Catholic · Combined below peers
Schools in Rock Flat
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Supermarkets | 5 | 0 |
| Cafes & restaurants | 17 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 23 | 1 |
| Childcare | 6 | 0 |
| GPs | 4 | 0 |
| Pharmacies | 3 | 0 |
| Hospitals | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Banks & Bank@Post | 4 | 0 |
| Fuel stations | 6 | 0 |
| EV chargers | 2 | 0 |
| Waterways | 10 | 24 |
Mobility
Rock Flat sits further from the CBD (415.7 km vs 399 km).
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 28/100 | 0/100 |
| Distance to Sydney | 399 km | 415.7 km +4% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 268 min | 274 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.5% postcode 2630 same for both | |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 39 postcode 2630 same for both | |
How people get to work
Method of travel on census day 2021 — which fell during COVID restrictions, so working from home is inflated and every travel mode understated.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (75.7%).
Setting
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 894 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 921 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 57/100 | 22/100 |
| Most common technology | Fibre to the node | Satellite (Sky Muster) |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 25% 3,792 premises | 0% 25 premises |
Climate
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 536 mm | 657 mm |
| Summer max (Jan) | 26.6°C | — |
| Winter min (Jul) | -1.7°C | — |
Council rates
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,253/yr same for both | |
| Council | Snowy Monaro same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Eden-monaro same for both | |
| Member | Kristy Mcbain same for both | |
| Party | Australian Labor Party same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Cooma | Rock Flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $600,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
Cooma
Rock Flat
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Cooma
Other comparisons with Rock Flat
Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.